Zenkichi's Decision
by Akuookami
Summary: An alternate universe in which Zenkichi picks a different way to defeat Medaka rather than running around like a love struck high-school student. Based on everyone's rage about the actual manga. . Please support the official release.
1. Resolve

=Chapter 1=

This is an alternate route for Zenkichi while he is training with Ajimu. I have been somewhat annoyed on how the story has been going in the Flask Revival arc for a while now so I feel a fanfic must be done. To my knowledge, this is the first fanfiction focused on Zenkichi on this website. Anyway, on with the fanfic! Starts at the beginning of Chapter 126…

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><p>Hitoyoshi Zenkichi sat on the floor, his mind in deep concentration. Next to him were Mukae Emukae, who watch him nervously and Najimi Ajimu, who stared at him intently from the ceiling. They had been transported to the past by Ajimu's skill <span>Door to Door<span> so Zenkichi can train privately. Their goal was simple: figure out how to make Kurokami Medaka lose and Zenkichi win. While it sounds simple, it obviously isn't. The veins on Zenkichi's head were popping out just trying to think of a solution.

"_How am I supposed to win against Medaka-chan?"_ Zenkichi thought to himself, _"I've liked Medaka-chan since the old days and I was always by her side but...but looking back on it, I never thought about why Medaka-chan was by mine…"_

Zenkichi continued to think intensively. _"I could just beat her up, but would I be happy with that? The point of me fighting Medaka in the first place is for me to be by her side. We could have a happy hug after all of this and be together forever, but that could be done without even winning, so there's no point to that. In the end, it just comes down to me feeling like I won and Medaka feeling like she lost…"_ Zenkichi opened his eyes in a confused stare. How does that even work? Medaka has been right about everything in her entire life time; would she even know what it feels like?

"_It's true that Medaka has been too right about everything. That's what I want to change. Despite that, Medaka-chan seems to know this and understands its risks. That's why she fight her polar opposites, like Kumagawa and Unzen-senpai; so she can understand that being too right is dangerous. In the end, fighting her would just be playing into her hands. No matter what, I can't seem to find a solution!"_ Zenkichi ruffled his hair. Emukae was tapping her boots together; she was getting pretty bored with all the silence. Ajimu just stayed on the ceiling like Spider-man (somehow she didn't vomit yet).

Then, Zenkichi realized a sad truth: _"Me and Medaka are on completely different wavelengths."_

He looked down on the ground, depressed.

"_I was the one who told Medaka that her purpose was to help others. I was an exception because I was different to her. I tried to distance myself, but I continued to run back to her side. Wait… why __did__ I do that? Why is that?"_ Zenkichi's eyes widened. Ajimu continued to stare intently.

"_True, I like Medaka-chan, but why does that make her the only one I want to be near? I like Akune-senpai, Kikaijime, even Kumagawa. They were all my enemies before they joined together with Medaka-chan. What makes her so special?"_

Zenkichi struggled with all his might. He felt like his world was trying to say something, but fell on deaf ears. It was really ticking him off.

"_NO matter what, I seem to always stay on Medaka's side; why do I go back? Even if my mom were to fight Medaka, I would've chosen Medaka over her. You could make a million people like Medaka, but I would've still picked Medaka over them. Medaka was a special existence to me, like the past Zenkichi (me) was to her. Why was I so fixated on her?"_

Zenkichi stated to stand. Emukae stopped playing with her shoes and looked at him. Ajimu tried to suppress a grin but couldn't. Phase one of the Flask Plan was going to be completed soon.

"Oh, I see… I wanted to date Medaka-chan." Zenkichi finally said.

Emukae gasped. However, Ajimu frowned. Zenkichi just chuckled to himself a bit.

"Um…Hitoyoshi-kun," Ajimu started, "did you say **'want-ed'**?"

Zenkichi nodded. "Yes I did, Ashin'in-san." Emukae realized where Ajimu was going.

"You don't want to date her now?" Ajimu continued frowning. This was **NOT** going to plan!

Zenkichi clenched his fist. "Ashin'in-san, please understand where I'm coming from. I thought Medaka-chan cared about me more than other, and I was selfish because of that. She is existence above me and I cannot reach her with just words. When I tried to prove her wrong and was severly beaten…like trash."

Ajimu looked at him. He was obviously distraught about the fact that Medaka hit him in the head after the Candidate race and beaten him to a silly pulp when he declared a war on her. To him, he felt like he was going to do justice. To her, it looked like some big baby throwing a tantrum. Humans…

"…Then I realized there was one person that Medaka felt like she 'lost' to…" Zenkichi continued.

Ajimu thought for a moment. She searched her memory for something of a point in time where Kurokami Medaka had felt she had lost. When she found one, her eyes widened in shock. Although it was a way to defeat Kurokami Medaka using a fight, it was almost evil, but like an antihero. Ajimu stared at Zenkichi with surprised and curiosity. The honest Zenkichi thought this was the only way to defeat Medaka. In her several hundred years of life, Ajimu felt she was staring at an entity those surpasses the main character of any comic. However, the horror of what he was going to suggest frightened her.

"Y-You mean him…?" she said sternly. She had to remain calm.

Zenkichi nodded.

"The Absolute Minus, the one Medaka couldn't defeat at that time… Kumagawa Misogi."

Ajimu tried to keep her mind calm. "Are you serious… you're going to become a Minus?"

Zenkichi cleared his throat with a cough. "Kumagawa always resisted Medaka in middle school. He never changed or improved during that time, leaving Medaka hollow on the inside. She felt ashamed that she couldn't 'save' him and regretted until he joined the Student Council. If I were to become a Minus, I could stop Medaka from changing my disposition and she will regret it. In this scenario, it would count as her 'loss' because she failed in her duty of helping others and my 'win' because I wanted to go down this path."

Ajimu was astounded that Zenkichi would've actually thought of this. She couldn't understand the emotions she was feeling at that moment. In any case, her only way to beat Kurokami Medaka was to use Zenkichi. She had to play along. She looked at Mukae Emukae. She looked like she was crying.

Emukae ran to Zenkichi and tackled him to the floor. Zenkichi wasn't able to react and both crashed to the floor. Before Zenkichi could respond to her sudden actions, she turned him over…and hugged him.

"E-Emukae?" gasped Zenkichi. The tears flowing down her face were tears of joy.

Emukae straddled him and looked at his happily, tears still flowing down her cheeks. "I guess we're going to be the same, right Hitoyoshi-kun." She said through her hiccups.

Zenkichi smiled and laughed to himself. "Yeah, I guess we are, huh?" They hugged once more getting up.

Ajimu was only able to stare, completely stumped.

"Phase one of the true Flask Plan: 'Realizing your own feelings' complete. It seems like his motivation has risen substantially. I-I guess… this will continue to a battle manga, after all."

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><p>…..You do not know how hard this was. To keep the characters in complete character but change the entire story to keep the fight on a battlefield...<p>

Then again, I'm not even sure if I kept them in character to begin with… WHY DID THIS HAVE TO BE SO HARD? May continue if I get more ideas…


	2. Initiation

=Chapter 2=

…Well, apparently canon Zenkichi's skill has been revealed: **Devil Style**.

This isn't the canon storyline anyway. But the name did give me an idea for a skill.

On with the story!

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><p>Talk about Zenkichi and Medaka's battle has gone around the school like wildfire. The abnormals, the minuses, and even the normals knew of the brawl in the girl's locker room. If anyone were to go into the student council room during that time, they would automatically feel the uneasiness from every member…except the president.<p>

"Zenkichi hasn't come to the council room for about a week. I wonder what happened." Akune said full of concern.

"Yeah, I hope he's alright." whimpered Kikaigima.

"Zenkichi shall be fine! He's probably having fun right now! Kumagawa, may I get the plan for the Sport's Festival?" declared Medaka at the top of her voice. Everyone turned to her. It was basically her fault that Zenkichi had moved to Ashin'in's side. How can she be so okay with this?

"[Here you go, Medaka-chan. All you need to do is sign it.]" Kumagawa said simply. Medaka took the paper to sign it while Kumagawa moved back to his seat next to Akune.

"Do you know where Zenkichi is, Kumagawa-san?" whispered Akune.

"[Ah, it's Ashin'in-san we're talking about. Obviously, she is having a training montage with him.]" stated Kumagawa. "[But I have a feeling that we will not like it…]"

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><p>"Argh!"<p>

Zenkichi hit the floor like a brick. He was still in the dream with Ashin'in-san and was being beaten to a pulp. Emukae was told to stay on the sidelines while he sparred with Ashin'in, but the tears streaming down her face didn't make it any less sad. So far, Zenkichi has done nothing but get clobbered by her the entire time.

"Ashin'in-san!" said Zenkichi before she punched him in the face, "I'm sorry to ask this of you but WHY ARE YOU BEATING MY FACE IN? How does this help me become a minus?"

Ashin'in smiled. She was having fun with such a stupid, innocent boy; maybe it was a sick fetish or something.

"Oh Zenkichi-chan, weren't you paying any attention to Kumagawa and his personality? You shouldn't be so rude to the people around you. You see, minuses have an unusual disposition on life; they have all suffered a kind of pain. Physical, emotional, it doesn't matter. As long as it is a kind of pain, it will work."

"So, you're making me feel physical pain to be assimilated into a minus…" finished Zenkichi. Well, that was obvious. Ashin'in-san was right; this was the only way to do this.

"Oh no, Zenkichi-chan, not just physical pain. I will put you through emotional pain as well." sneered Ajimu. "If you are going to be the most powerful of the minuses, you must have the most pain as well."

Zenkichi's eyes widened. He was going to have to go through even more pain? But not just a simple mental adjustment; something that goes even further than Kumagawa's. Kumagawa was the most warped person he knew; could he go even farther than that? Zenkichi couldn't imagine the horror of such mental shock; he might even go insane.

"I won't allow it!" yelled Emukae. Both Zenkichi and Ajimu looked at her. "He is who he is because he didn't go through those kinds of things! This is the only way I want him! I love him because he is who he is!" she screamed. Her tears were falling like waterfalls.

"Emukae…" said Zenkichi. She was becoming a very good friend to him…or was she more than that? Zenkichi thought of this for a moment. She did just yell out her feelings for the millionth time. Could he really think of her as a friend when she was so hopelessly in love with him? Zenkichi shook his head: it wasn't time to be thinking of this. He only had only thing to deal with for now: Kurokami Medaka.

"On the contrary, Emukae, all he needs to do is know how to deal with weakness, not to become it. Kumagawa's weakness was his aspect on life. He never knew how to win in the first place. However, Zenkichi-chan knows the feeling of a win, and therefore should be able to fight evenly with Kurokami Medaka." said Ashin'in. Emukae sighed as if she was relieved while Zenkichi-chan just looked at the both of them with a blank expression.

"Zenkichi-chan, come over here. Since you seem fed up with losing against me in combat, it's time to start your mental training." Ajimu said as she beckoned him with her hand. Zenkichi staggered to his feet and dragged his feet to where Ajimu was standing.

She placed her hands on both sides of his head and close her eyes. Zenkichi nervously darted his eyes between the two hands.

"I'm going to activate **Book Maker** but on a much grander scale. You are going to have to prepare yourself; tell me when you are ready." Said Ajimu gently.

Zenkichi tried to calmed himself through a breathing exercise but it didn't work. Why couldn't he calm down? This was going to be a simple process; why was he scared? Zenkichi opened his eyes to figuratively find his answer looking at him the face: he didn't want to change. He wanted to fight Medaka with his mind still intact; the way it always is. If he changed his mind afterwards, this win won't have any meaning. Zenkichi clutched his chest in fear; thinking about how he will act after Ajimu activated **Book Maker**. He didn't want to become someone else; he didn't want his self to "die". His thoughts were interrupted by something clutching his hand. He looked to his left side to see Emukae holding it between hers. The tears on her face were gone; all that was left was a look of kindness and affection.

"It's okay, Hitoyoshi-kun, I'm here for. I don't if I am the one you need right now, this is all I can offer." Said Emukae. Zenkichi looked at her stunned. He was glad to have someone like her by his side. He was able to finally calm down.

"Alright, hit me with all you got, Ashin'in-san!" Zenkichi declared. Ajimu smiled to herself. She was disheartened that his motivation quivered, but maybe he found something else to fight.

"Alright Zenkichi-chan, brace yourself to my **Book Maker: Ajimu version**!" Electrical sparks started between her hands started before becoming a miniature super cell thunderstorm. Zenkichi, being the only thing in between the two points, was severely blasted from both sides.

"AAAUUUUGH!" screamed Zenkichi. His howls of pain filled the entire classroom, waking up the Medaka of that time period from her room in her house. However, she just shrugged her shoulders and went back, but not before thinking _'Zenkichi?'_

Zenkichi collapsed harshly onto the floor, his head steaming from the explosion of mental resuscitation. Emukae picked up his head and placed it on her lap, giggling with glee that something like this was happening to her. Ajimu stared at the both of them and pouted. Why couldn't she get that kind of treatment from anyone? Then she smiled to herself; oh right, she was scary as hell.

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><p>Zenkichi opened his eyes to find himself in another classroom. A dream within a dream, huh? It reminded him of a movie he saw recently. The room was the same as his when he was a middle school student. He looked across to find…<p>

"Medaka-chan?" Zenkichi said as he saw Medaka near the door. She was in her also in her middle school uniform and her hair tied in pigtails. She smiled at him sweetly as she moved towards him. Zenkichi staggered back, griping the windowsill. What was happening? Why was he here? What did Ajimu do to him? As he thought Medaka was right up in his face, which startled him.

"Hey, Zenkichi…" She started. Zenkichi gulped. She seemed so kind to him right now; not like what she was like recently. He felt like he could go back to the beginning of their relationship: start anew, become friends, fall in love, and have a normal life.

"Die for me." She ended as she punched a hole through his chest, rocketing him through the wall and to the ground. Being on the third floor, he fell to the ground pretty hard. He looked up to see Medaka flying towards him with her feet extended. Zenkichi pounded his feet onto the ground to force his body to roll before Medaka blasted dust into the air when she hit the ground.

Zenkichi picked himself an held his chest, which was bleeding profusely. "W-W-why?" exclaimed Zenkichi. He didn't do anything to her; why?

"Oh, Zenkichi, you still don't get it do you?" Medaka stated harshly as she appeared from the cloud of dust. "You are no use to me anymore. You gave me a purpose, and I am grateful, but you have become boring just like all the other normals. Farewell, Zenkichi; I shall commemorate your memory with a statue!" She pounded her fist into his arm to the point of disintegration, causing Zenkichi to howl in pain. When Zenkichi looked at his arm to see it looked as if it was made of jelly. He could feel it, the power of a loss. It hurt not just his arm, but his heart as well…

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><p>Zenkichi convulsed in his sleep as Emukae held him. The tears were starting to come back as she saw Zenkichi cry in pain. Ajimu put a hand on her shoulder and gave a glance of assurance before leaving the room. Emukae though for a moment and knew what to do. She will stay by Zenkichi's side until he awakened. She will stay by his side forever…<p>

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><p>Shiranui watched Zenkichi start twitching in his sleep. Ajimu watched as Emukae's expression softened.<p>

"Well. What's happening in there? I'm getting bored being out here" said Shiranui impatiently. She was getting bored and running out of things to snack on.

"Don't worry, Zenkichi going to be coming out of the dream soon enough. Then, he will become a truly formidable force to be reckoned with." chuckled Ajimu. Finally, her entire plan was coming to fruition.

"[Oh, really?]"

Ajimu and Shiranui turned their heads to see Kumagawa standing in the doorway.

"[Well, well, well, what do we have here?]" Exclaimed Kumagawa, obviously excited, "[Ajimu and Shiranui are sitting around while Zenkichi-chan and Mukae-san are sleeping on the ground. Very suspicious.]"

"Oh, don't mind us Kumagawa-san, we're just making a training process faster like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Please go on with your council duties" said Ajimu passively waving her hand.

"[I don't think so, Ashin'in-san] said Kumagawa with killing intent in his voice, "[You see, my little kouhai are wondering if I'm going to do anything about this little fight between Zenkichi-chan and Medaka-chan. This is a perfect time to stop anything before it starts.]"

"Are you implying that we should fight?" said Shiranui. She about ready to do anything to relieve her boredom, even fight this crazy minus.

"[On the contrary, Shiranui-chan, I going to sit with you guys until Zenkichi-chan wakes up. I'd rather not beat up my friend to stop the feud and me winning doesn't make sense either. The only way to do something is to convince Zenkichi to stop this madness.]" said Kumagawa cheerfully.

Sweat drops appeared on both Ajimu's and Shiranui's heads. There was no way to predict this guy.

"…A-Alright, sit down Kumagawa-san; you're going to be here a while" said Ajimu.

Kumagawa took a seat next to Ajimu and everyone waited for the return of Zenkichi and his rebirth.

Then, Kumagawa felt he needed to break the silence.

"[…anyone got any cards?]" said Kumagawa.

* * *

><p>…Well, this took me longer than I thought. Maybe it was because I was watching TV while doing this…<p>

The part about the younger Medaka should be explained. Ajimu's skill **Open Door **shoots them back to the past, when Ajimu was still in her prime (and when her face wasn't ripped off). This moves the Zenkichi and Emukae of that time period to that location with the memories of their present selves. For that reason, the younger Medaka of that time period was able to hear them when Zenkichi was being trained in that classroom.

Anyway, this is pretty long for me; I'm surprised! (over 2,000 words!)

I feel confident with this chapter; hopefully everyone is like they usually are.

The writing felt tedious, hopefully everyone will like this!

Until next time!


	3. Confliction

=Chapter 3=

Yay, next chapter!

Chapter 134 was weird for me. A battle of the bands? Nisio's weird.

Anyway, on with the chapter.

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><p>Akune continued to the student council work in their room. Without either Kumagawa and Zenkichi here, he was stuck doing most of the manual labor. Kikaijima was discussing with the Naked Apron Alliance and Medaka went to check the suggestion box so he was stuck with the all the paper work. Even though Medaka did encourage him to stand up for himself, he wasn't really up to the challenge of doing all the council work by himself. As he signed some other papers for the cultural festival, he thought of what was happening to his friends in the student council.<p>

Zenkichi was moving farther from the group and onto Ajimu's side. While he did understand why he was going to do this, he has a feeling that Zenkichi may have changed his mind. Zenkichi hasn't been coming to the council room in the past week just proves his theory.

Medaka doesn't even seem to care much about Zenkichi and what he was going through. Although she wants him to grow, she decided to do it in the most hurtful way possible. She has since been allowing him to go down his own path (for better or for worse) and has been going on to what she thinks is more important.

Kumagawa and Kikaijima created the Naked Apron Alliance along with the student council interns to stop the battle between Zenkichi and Medaka from getting a result. Akune was part of the mayhem, but he hasn't been helping the cause much. He has decided to be on Zenkichi's side, but he's been acting like a background character for a while now. Earlier in the morning, Kikaijima told him that Kumagawa was working on stopping Zenkichi while she tries to stop Medaka. While it was special information, there was no point to giving him the information if Kumagawa got to him first. All he could do was do the council work.

Everyone has been going down different paths and Akune didn't like where each was headed.

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><p>Kikaijima walked down the hall to find Medaka staring at the suggestion box. Perplexed, Kikaijima went up to see what was going on. As she neared, Medaka didn't even seem to know she was there; she was staring down on the box.<p>

"Hey, Kurokami-san" whispered Kikaijima. Medaka continued to stare at the box.

"Kurokami-san!" said Kikaijima. No response. Not even a little twitch.

"KUROKAMI-SAN!" yelled Kikaijima at the top of her voice.

Medaka turned to her slowly. Kikaijima's eyes widened. Medaka looked like she normally did, but with a pang of sadness. Heavy bags hung under her eyes as if she didn't have any sleep for several days and her hair looked a little messy.

"Ah, Kikaijima-san, how have your duties suited you" she said slowly. She still had an authoritative voice, but it lacked gusto.

"Umm, Kurokami-san, is something the matter? You don't look the same" said Kikaijima. Despite what she was supposed to be doing, she was still Medaka's friend. If the president was feeling bad, it was her duty to help her.

"Sorry for my appearance, Treasure Kikaijima, I am just going through a mental adjustment" declared Medaka.

"A mental adjustment?" questioned Kikaijima.

"Anyway, Zenkichi is the one who is supposed to be checking the suggestion box. I wonder what is taking him so long" Medaka said.

Kikaijima stared at her. Was she dodging the question on purpose? "What do you mean a 'mental adjustment'?"

Medaka scratched her head. "The interns for the student council are quite intriguing. They seem like they may be more capable than Zenkichi in doing certain duties. They're even preoccupied trying to stop Zenkichi from becoming my enemy and still have time to grow. They have surpassed my expectations."

Kikaijima blinked her eyes. "Are you saying that Zenkichi can be easily replaced by those five candidates?"

Medaka's eyes lightened up, as if she found a solution to a problem. She rose up from her slacking position. "Yes!" she said boisterously.

"But he's Zenkichi! He's been with you for 13 long years! He helped you countless times; obviously a lot more than those five candidates. Can't you give him some kind of compliment?" Kikaijima said weakly.

Medaka looked at her unemotionally. "I'm not insulting Zenkichi's abilities, Treasurer Kikaijima. I am merely stating that his skills are inferior to the candidates. Now, if you shall excuse me, I will be going on to other student council matters: there are no suggestions in the box today." With that said, she strolled down the hall with her head held high, leaving Kikaijima with a shocked expression.

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><p>Zenkichi was in the worst experience of his life. He was going through every single pain that life could offer him: economic breakdown, rejection, isolation, injuries, surgery without anesthesia, any pain that can be thought up was happening to him one by one. He knew it was just a dream, it wasn't real, but he felt his heart, brain, and internal organs burst as each kind of pain became more severe than the last. He didn't know if he was going to take it.<p>

All of a sudden, he was back in the room with Medaka; the first kind of pain that he felt in this dreamscape.

"Hey Zenkichi" she said slowly as she walked towards him at a painfully slow pace. Zenkichi closed his eyes. He didn't want to feel pain anymore. It was becoming unbearable. He wanted to fight back but couldn't; everything was happening so quickly.

He was scared.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped in front of him. Zenkichi held his arms crossed and tight, waiting for the impact of her punches.

Nothing happened.

"What are you doing you idiot?"

Zenkichi's muscles loosened. That wasn't Medaka's voice. It sounded like…

Himself.

He was staring right at himself, in the classroom.

"…Huh?" was all he could say.

"Are you just going to crawl up into a ball whenever you feel pain? That isn't the way you should be dealing with stuff, me!" he said loudly. Zenkichi continued to stare at the entity. It looked like him entirely; nothing was off.

"Who are you?" he said getting into his Savate stance. Whoever this was, he was trying to make Zenkichi into someone else. He should've known that Ashin'in was planning something.

The entity stared at him. "Who am I? I am you; the only ally that will stay on your side for life. Put down your hands and listen for once, I've been trying to say something!" Zenkichi felt he couldn't trust him but put his hands downs, no problem with speaking to it.

"What do you want to talk about?" said Zenkichi.

"You. How can you just let these things happen to you? No, I'm not talking about in here; I'm talking about out there!" the entity yelled. The whole room seemed to vibrate with energy as it spoke.

"They were out of my control…" said Zenkichi.

"NO THEY WERE NOT! We decided to do this; all of this was because of us!" the entity cleared his throat and spoke in a calmer voice, "Remind me why we are here."

"To become a minus" said Zenkichi plainly.

"For what reason?" the entity said.

"…To beat Medaka-chan."

"Why are we fighting Medaka?" Zenkichi stared at the entity: he didn't call her Medaka-chan; wasn't he supposed to be him?

"To show her that I…can…" Zenkichi paused for a moment. He couldn't remember why. How can he forget such a big piece of information?

The entity moved closer to Zenkichi. "Do you want to tell you? Do you want me to refresh your memory?" His voice was filled with hatred.

Zenkichi stared into the entity's eyes. A fire burned in each eye (metaphorically speaking). He knew he was going to be opening a bomb if he answered either way.

"…Sure, lay it on me."

A sudden wave of pain shocked Zenkichi and he closed his eyes in horror. When he opened them again, he was on Hakoniwa Academy grounds…with a pounding sensation on the back of his head.

"Hmph, I didn't expect this…"

Zenkichi turned behind him to see Medaka with her fist clenched. She was obviously the only one who hit her because everyone else was behind her.

"…A man of your level actually got me to trust you" Medaka finished. Zenkichi just stared at her: he remembered what happened now.

Then, everything faded into black and white, him being the only one in color. His shadow rose and gained color, becoming the entity.

"She threw us away. She treated us like trash." He said.

"That isn't true. I was just weak" said Zenkichi.

"We are not weak! We tried our best and we were thrown away!"

"Medaka-chan would never do that!" yelled Zenkichi, but now unsure if he meant it.

"Did you not see what has happened? Get it through your head that she doesn't want you!"

"How can you be so sure?" Zenkichi screamed.

"Easy: she found five more, better replacements."

Zenkichi punched the entity in the face. He couldn't take what this guy was saying. How would he know…unless he was right? No, he couldn't think like that; he couldn't-

"Heh heh heh" the entity chuckled, "Are you afraid that it might be real? Don't kid yourself; of course it is."

Zenkichi crumpled to the ground. He didn't want to, but he had to. He couldn't find any counter-arguments to use.

Then, Zenkichi was pulled up by his collar by the entity. They stared at each other with uncertainty in what was going to happen next.

"I'm going to tell you why we are fighting Medaka and you will listen. I don't care if you agree; just listen" the entity said. Zenkichi looked into the entity's eyes. It held pity, harshness, and…sadness. Zenkichi nodded.

"Alright," started the entity,

* * *

><p>When he finished, he let go of Zenkichi and let him think about it. Zenkichi hung his head low, slowly lifted it up, and determination grew on his face.<p>

"…Alright. Thank you" said Zenkichi. Everything disappeared and he woke up on Emukae's arms.

"Ah! Hitoyoshi-kun!" she said in embarrassment. She made a move to stand up but then he put a hand on her cheek…and chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to bite" he said lightheartedly.

"A-Are you okay? Do you feel any different?" Emukae stuttered.

"I'm alright. I may have mental scarring, but I'm alright. As for changing, I don't feel any different. But I do know what to do now."

Emukae cocked her head to the side in a silent question.

"I…"

In the room, Shiranui, Ajimu, and Kumagawa were staying silent. Kumagawa's suggestion for conversations fell on deaf ears. Suddenly, the bodies on the floor twitched and their eyes flew open.

"[Oh, hello Zenkichi; how are you doing. Listen, I need to ask-]" Kumagawa's small talk was short-lived when Zenkichi lifted his legs, grabbed Kumagawa's head, and pulled him straight down to make him face-plant the floor.

"Sorry, Kumagawa-senpai, I don't have time to talk to you right now" stating Zenkichi. He went up to Ajimu and stood at attention.

Kumagawa pulled his bloodied face of the floor and looked up at him. Emukae sat next to him to watch the event.

"Can I help you, Hitoyoshi-kun?" said Ajimu.

"…Thank you, Ashin'in-san" said Zenkichi. Ajimu just stared at him. Kumagawa and Shiranui looked in confusion. Emukae kept a straight face. Hanten kept his face away from the camera.

"You've given me the power to fight against Medaka. How can I repay you?" asked Zenkichi.

"…You are one, strange human, Zenkichi. This opportunity to watch you develop into something else is enough by itself" said Ajimu.

Zenkichi turned to the door and started walking out. Shiranui got up from her seat and followed him out of the room. Ajimu disappeared into thin air, leaving Emukae and Kumagawa in the room alone.

"[…Mukae-chan, do you know what Zenkichi has become?]" asked Kumagawa.

"Yes, he became a minus. Why?" replied Emukae.

"[Then the Naked Apron Alliance has failed on this side.]"

"?" Emukae looked at him.

"[A minus can only be stopped by an abnormal. Positives always beat negatives; that is the law.]"

"I don't know about that, Kumagawa-san," said Emukae, "Maybe Hitoyoshi-kun will be able to fight for what he can believe in."

"[Well, we'll see what happens.]"

* * *

><p>Done and done.<p>

I think I made this more wordy than I felt like.

I think I'm getting better at writing though.

Next time, a shocking development!


	4. Salutations

=Chapter 4=

On with the Zenkichi story!

Like always, this is never edited, proof read, or nothing. I make it up as I go.

On with the story!

* * *

><p>Zenkichi marched to the student council room with Shiranui. The talk with the entity inside the dream made him review the facts of what had happened to him and motivated again with a stronger standing. He needed to tell Medaka something right away, and no one was going to stop him.<p>

Shiranui watched her fellow classmate as they strolled along side each other. She was starting to see the abnormality (or rather minus) that Zenkichi had become.

How he stared ahead.

How he walked.

The creases on his face.

He had gone through pain that most people would either die from or commit suicide. The fact the Ajimu used Book Maker for that purpose was to continue doing it until his mind had gotten used to pain. He knows pain, and accepts it. He is now a champion of weakness, and knows how to use it to his advantage. However, Medaka doesn't have any form of weakness other than her inability to understand human affection for certain things. Zenkichi had decided to do things in combat, where she is in her prime. Even so, she wanted Zenkichi to win once in his life, so she decided not to talk him out of this mess of a plan.

"So, Zenkichi, what are you going to tell Medaka?" asked Shiranui.

Zenkichi looked down at his companion and smirked. "You'll see when we get there."

This caused her to pout.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Kumagawa and Emukae were stalking the two from a distance to watch the scene unfold. They peered around the corner to watch Zenkichi and Shiranui walk side by side toward the council room. Kumagawa had to take away Emukae's knives just in case she got a little out of hand. However, even he felt a level of insecurity on how the scene was unfolding.<p>

Zenkichi was just like him now, a minus.

The very thought of that made him feel…strange. Was it happiness; the fact he wasn't the only minus in the student council anymore? Or was it the feeling of envy, on account of the fact that he was a stronger minus than him now? He never understood anything about these kinds of things when he was a minus, but now has a good grasp on emotional logic.

Zenkichi wanted revenge on the person who caused him the first great pain that he experienced.

And that person was Kurokami Medaka.

Kumagawa looked at Emukae. She looked at Zenkichi with a great deal of affection, even now. Now that he thought about it, why did Zenkichi stay the same even after becoming a minus? Obviously, he should've become a lot more insane and acquired a love for Shonen Jump. Something must have happened in the dream that made him that way. Kumagawa got up from his sitting position and crept along to another hiding place to watch Zenkichi kick the door that led to student council room open.

* * *

><p>Zenkichi blasted the door back with his foot with no hesitation. As he thought, he found Medaka sitting at her desk, finishing up the paper work for the culture festival. Akune and Kikaijima were also in the room, both jumping at the sound of the door breaking from its hinges and flipping towards Medaka. Medaka lifted her head just in time to see the door right in front of her table. She blinked and the door crumbled into powder.<p>

'_She used Emukae's skill Raff-Rafflesia in the blink of an eye? How is that even possible?' _thought Akune.

'_Did Kurokami-san grow stronger in just a few hours?'_ thought Kikaijima.

Medaka narrowed her eyes to see the person who shoved the entrance in her face. When the dust dissipated, Medaka wasn't surprised that Zenkichi was standing at the entrance. What DID surprise her was the fact he had the power or the confidence to do that. Maybe he was more interesting as an enemy after all.

"Hey, Medaka-chan, how has it been going with the council work?" said Zenkichi with a smirk on his face. Medaka felt a pang of insecurity. There was something different about him; she just couldn't put her finger on it. Just the way he smiles…

"It has been going fine, Zenkichi. Why don't you sit down and help me organize this stack of papers?" Medaka said gesturing towards the enormous piles of papers to her left and right.

"I'm sorry, Medaka-chan, I didn't come here to help…" said Zenkichi. Medaka tipped her head in a silent question. Kikaijima and Akune looked on in nervousness.

"I've come here to tell you…" Zenkichi started as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a shiny quarter, causing everyone to question what he was doing with U.S. currency. As he flip it, he finished his sentence:

"…I will be leaving the student council."

"WHAT?" flinched Akune.

Kikaijima covered her mouth in shock.

Medaka narrowed her eyes harder.

"I call heads" said Zenkichi. It fell on his hand on heads. Everyone just continued to wonder what Zenkichi was doing. He just told Medaka that he was going to leave the council, just like that. For someone who believes that helping the people around you is the greatest good, that would be like back-handing her in the face. Akune and Kikaijima looked back from Zenkichi to Medaka.

"…What are you talking about, Zenkichi?" she said hesitantly. She obviously knew the fact but couldn't believe it.

"I can't be near you if I am going to fight you, Medaka-chan. I'm basically here to tell you that I am waging war against you for the second time. I guess I should-" Zenkichi was cut short by the screw that went through his head. Kumagawa grimaced as the blood splatter onto his uniform. Akune and Kikaijima gaped and rushed to the scene. Medaka simply watched from her chair.

"[I'm sorry, Medaka-chan, I couldn't help myself. You very well know what he became]" said Kumagawa.

"…a minus, am I correct?" asked Medaka. Akune turned toward Medaka while Kikaijima turned to Kumagawa.

"Are you serious? How can he become something like that?" he yelled.

Medaka stared down at Akune. "It's very possible, Secretary Akune. I'm sure that the Not Equal Ajimu Najimi has something to do with this."

"Well, you're right about that."

Everyone turned to see Zenkichi right behind Kumagawa in the hallway.

"How did you-" Kikaijima gasped.

"Like my new skill? I figured I would give you a sneak peek at what it does" he said with his hands behind his head. Kumagawa turned to the place where he hit Zenkichi to find a cardboard cutout of him.

Medaka suddenly stood and walked up to Zenkichi, who continued to act aloof.

"Zenkichi, I was trying to improve you so you can become something better. You have been provoking me to do something else entirely. What are you trying to prove?" said Medaka.

"I'm not trying to prove anything, and it's wrong of you to try to change me. What needs improving?" he shouted. Medaka stepped back because of the sound.

"You are simply being too stubborn for your own good. You should correct your behavior before you cause some unnecessary harm to others" said Medaka she tried to grasp him. He stepped back.

"I only came to tell you that I'm leaving the Student Council. Here's the armband and uniform" Zenkichi said as he took off the band and pulled of the uniform, leaving him only wearing a white t-shirt. He stacked the items onto Medaka's open hands and walked down the hall.

"Wait, Zenkichi! Stop!" yelled Medaka. Zenkichi continued to walk down the hall.

"…PROSTRATE BEFORE ME, Hitoyoshi Zenkichi!" stated Medaka. Zenkichi hit the ground harder than a brick. Emukae moved from her hiding to go to Zenkichi's side. Akune and Kikaijima came out into the hall to see what made the noise and gaped. Kumagawa just watched with a frown on his face. Medaka had used Weighed Words on Zenkichi.

"Zenkichi, I don't know what happened to the man that I knew, but he isn't there anymore. You have become a danger not to me, but to the entire school! I have no choice but to beat you now!" declared Medaka.

Zenkichi struggled to his feet and turned to Medaka. "All…I am trying to do…is…become my own person. You have no right to stop me!" he screamed before bursting from the Weighed Words' control. He turned to Emukae, "Come on, Emukae."

Emukae took his arm and walked with him, leaving the Student Council staring either at their departure or the clothing in Medaka's hands. Shiranui, who was being unnaturally quiet, followed silently behind.

"Um, Medaka-cha-" Akune started before looking at Medaka. She was crying into the uniform.

"Are you okay, Kurokami-san?" asked Kikaijima. A few moments among, she told her that Zenkichi was inferior to the interns; now she was crying.

"I'm fine; just grieving for a comrade. He was a nice person, a valuable companion… but he's dead now" stared down at the uniform and gripped it, "I'll avenge him by beating the atrocity that replace him!"

"I won't be too sure about that, Kurokami Medaka" Ajimu appeared on top of a desk in the room, "He's become my little test subject. Let's see if this Flask Plan experiment works."

"I won't allow it! I will defeat the monster you made and bring Zenkichi back! He did it for me once; I must return the favor!" Medaka snarled.

"Please tell me how it goes down: I'd love to hear it from one of the contestant's mouth" said Ajimu as she disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Medaka stared at the spot where Ajimu was, "...Joke's on her: I've gotten a new skill" she smirked.

* * *

><p>Zenkichi limped around the corner and collapsed. Talking in such a boisterous tone was tiring; how could Kumagawa stand himself when he was like that. Emukae layed him down onto the wall and sat beside him. Zenkichi started to breathe heavily and closed his eyes. The Weighted Words really had a mark on him.<p>

"Hitoyoshi-kun, why did you pretend to become someone else? Medaka is angry with you now, you know?" said Emukae.

"I know; that's what I wanted to do."

"Eh?"

"I knew that she would be mad at me if I become the same thing as Kumagawa-senpai. Then, she would have no qualms with fighting me 'for the sake of the students'. Then, I would really feel accomplished if I can defeat her" Zenkichi chuckled.

"Hopefully, this doesn't backfire on you. I would hate it if you pushed her or yourself too far" whimpered Emukae.

"Who the heck do you think I am? I'm obviously going to push myself too far" the both of them laughed as they got up and walked on, unaware of their witness in the shadows.

"Well, this is something to inform the others of. I hope I'm not too late to stop this madness."

"I can't believe they forgot I existed for a second there. I felt worse than Hinokage-senpai"

Munakata Kei and Shiranui Hansode walked down the hall to the room where the rest of Zenkichi's comrades waited for his arrival.

* * *

><p>Well that happened.<p>

I painted Medaka in a better light in this chapter for some reason:

I've been reading the earlier chapters too much.

Anyway, latest chapter: the band battle begins! And they talk about Medaka's problems! More stuff to work with! I'm happy now.

Maybe I should put a spoiler tag on this story…


	5. Transition

=Chapter 5=

The next chapter is here!

Not my best chapter, or my favorite. How did I do this over a few days. (sigh)

I'm disappointed in myself.

Anyway, on with the chapter!

* * *

><p>Munakata Kei was a man of few words; he knew actions spoke for themselves. Because of his abnormality, his bloodlust would drive everyone crazy, and he saved them by firing at them: it was the only way to drive them off. Even if he was wanted in most countries, he knew that his actions saved everyone that he might've killed.<p>

That's why, when he told Zenkichi's followers the he had become a minus, he had no idea that the power of words could become stronger than actions.

"What? Hitoyoshi became a minus?" Kurokami Kugira said strongly. Munakata pulled back the reaction of plugging his ears.

"Yes, it would appear that Zenkichi has become a minus. With my **Analysis** I was able to feel the appearance of another minus pop up on the campus. Because it came so abruptly, I was sure that someone had turned into a minus. The thing I didn't count on was that in was in fact Zenkichi" said Kurokami Maguro lengthily.

"So, are you gonna side with him or not on his decision?" said Shiranui abruptly. Did it really matter that he had become a minus? He was still Zenkichi. Everyone looked at each other with undecipherable expressions and nodded.

"We all came into this fully aware of anything that would happen. We shall still side with Zenkichi" said Maguro.

Shiranui sported a wicked grin. With Zenkichi being a minus, he should be left alone so his powers could fester. With Abnormals and other Minuses on his side, it would be interesting how Ajimu plans to sort this out.

"Alrighty then, if you need me, I'll be in the cafeteria" said Shiranui.

* * *

><p>The next day, Zenkichi walked up to the school, breathing the fresh air as he entered the hall. He felt strange going into this place after what had happened yesterday, but after a good night's rest, he was able to clear his mind of any thoughts that would distract him. As he walked through the halls, he felt renewed and refreshed. It was as if there was a weight lifted off his shoulders. It was then he hit the door of the student council room. He stared at the doorknob for what felt like an eternity. It was always where he went in the morning; he didn't know where else to go.<p>

But now it felt wrong.

He didn't belong here; inside or outside. All he has ever done in the past year was in the student council room. He didn't even realize he was still wearing his pajama top with his school pants because it was black. He was starting to hesitate again. He had a lot of fun with the other members: Akune, Kikaijima, and even Kumagawa. Until recently, everything has been smooth sailing for him. Other than the battle after battles with the "evil forces" of the school, he loved taking care of the plants and just talking with everyone. Now he was isolated from them, whether he liked it or not.

"Having second thoughts, Hitoyoshi-kun?" asked a voice behind him.

Zenkichi turned to see Ajimu standing right behind him.

"Anshin'in-san, um…I don't know…" said Zenkichi.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'" said Ajimu.

Zenkichi sighed; she was right. It hasn't even been a day and now was missing his old lifestyle. Should he have really tried to go against Medaka? Zenkichi let go of the doorknob and down the hallway, clearly not wanting to talk about it. Ajimu stared at him and smiled. He was going fairly well as a test subject, albeit a little sensitive. Right now, she just has to go with the flow until Medaka is beaten and the Flask Plan could continue.

"I guess should bring 'him' into the story as well" Ajimu said to herself before disappearing.

* * *

><p>"…Who the hell are you?" asked Zenkichi to the man sitting in his seat in class. He was a young man of average height and build, with messy, white hair with a greenish tint, which casted a permanent shadow over his red eyes. Instead of turning toward Zenkichi to respond, He turned the other way.<p>

"Would you mind not staring at me? I can't really well in front of people" the man said.

"Then why the heck are you sitting in my seat?" said Zenkichi.

"…Oh this is your seat. I sure I must have mistaken it. Well, off I go." He grabbed Zenkichi's sleeve and before he had time to respond, he was being dragged down the hall as the bell rang.

The man dragged Zenkichi into the infirmary, placing him on a bed. He then grabbed a chair and sat down next to Zenkichi and started playing with a top.

"There, that's better. Now I can talk from the original storyline" said the man.

"Like I said, who are you? Are you one of Anshin'in-san's friends?" questioned Zenkichi. This guy was obviously very strange, even for an abnormal.

"I am Tsurubami Kamome," said the man, "I am the man that is a little bit closer to the main character than you."

_Okay, this guy probably is one of Ajimu's comrades. The fact he is speaking manga lingo just proves my point. Maybe I should try to have a conversation with him._

"So, Tsurubami-kun, what kind of manga do you like to read?" he said cautiously.

"Shut up. Jump Square" said Tsurubami.

"Oh, so you like To-Love-Ru Darkness then?" said Zenkichi.

Tsurubami hid his face from view using his hands, trying to cover his embarrassed features. "Are they really featuring that in Square now? Oh gosh, I didn't know. I don't have a computer, so I'm not really up to date, ya know?"

_Well, it looks like he isn't a minus: they're obsessed with Shonen Jump. I wonder why I'm not._ "So, Tsurubami-kun, can I help you with something? I'm kind of busy with some things so I don't really have any spare time."

"A main character always makes time for new characters, Hitoyoshi-kun. You can't become one if you aren't versatile. You're lucky I am here to help you."

Zenkichi straightened his posture. "So you are with Ashin'in-san after all. What do you need? I'll be glad to help."

Tsurubami stood up. "Well, now you're taking a supporting role to this conversation. Geez, Hitoyoshi-kun, you sure are a strange character. Your minus doesn't even make you that strong; or rather it's not completely developed yet."

Zenkichi felt a vein pop on his head. This 'Tsurubami Kamome' was annoying the hell out of him.

"Alright, spit it out; who are you? You're with Anshin'in-san right? Aren't we comrades?"

"Don't feel so high and mighty just because you were chosen by Anshin'in-san. In fact, you couldn't even lay a finger on my body even if you tried."

Zenkichi got into his Savate position. This was probably part of the Flask Plan. If this guy was asking for a fight, he was going to hit him full throttle. As he lifted his right foot-

_BAM!_

Tsurubami's foot crashed down onto Zenkichi's. Zenkichi didn't even have time to blink. That was faster than Medaka's Kurokami Phantom! How was he able to move at such high speed? What exactly is Tsurubami Kamome?

"You see, Hitoyoshi-kun? Just as I-"

_THWAK!_

Zenkichi flicked Tsurubami in the head. Both looked at each other with stunned silence…before Zenkichi broke into laughter.

"I was just going to move forward but I guess you beat me to it, huh?" said Zenkichi, grinning. Tsurubami just stared at Zenkichi before smirking himself.

"I guess you have changed after becoming a minus, didn't you, Hitoyoshi-kun? Well, I guess it was all in due time." Tsurubami took the seat he was using and sat down. "As you said, yes, I am with Anshin'in-san. She told me to test the current 'you' after your transformation."

Zenkichi shrugged his shoulders; should've seen that one coming. "So, what are you going to do to me?"

"Anshin'in-san told me to help you afterwards with your fighting techniques. As a dark hero, I can help you in the fastest way possible. I can only accomplish things in the dark, ya know? I will help you develop your own style of fighting that even Medaka can't copy. I'd like to call it the 'Zenkichi System'"

"Alright, what do we do first?" asked Zenkichi.

"Let's continue this off-screen shall we?" said Tsurubami.

"What are you talking about?" question Zenkichi. He was starting to become even weirder than Zenkichi anticipated.

"Nothing; just mumbling to myself. Come, Let's go to the training grounds" Tsurubami walked out the infirmary with Zenkichi right behind him.

* * *

><p>I am dissapointed in myself. a measly 1400 word chapter.<p>

I'll try harder next time.

Look forward to the next one...i guess.


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